Guatemala

Journalists increasingly practiced self-censorship as Mexican drug cartels expanded their presence in
Guatemala. In May, criminals in four provinces
hung banners in public places, threatening journalists with harm if gang activities were covered. A television journalist in
southern Escuintla province was killed under unclear circumstances
after receiving several threats. While the rise
of criminal groups posed a growing risk, journalists also faced danger for coverage of official corruption and domestic security
issues. In the southwestern city of
Quetzaltenango, a television
journalist and his family escaped injury when their
van came under gunfire. The reporter had received death threats related to his coverage of police corruption. A columnist in the
western city of Panajachel was forced to relocate after receiving a
series of intimidating text messages concerning
her coverage of a citizen security committee. The local press group CERIGUA documented an increase in press freedom violations in
the months leading up to the November
presidential elections, as well as a number of assaults and
threats against journalists on Election Day.
Otto Pérez Molina, a retired general running on the conservative Patriotic Party ticket, defeated businessman Manuel Baldizón in
a runoff. Facing a murder rate among the highest
in the world, Pérez pledged a tough approach on crime.

5

13

Newspaper columnist Lucía Escobar fled Panajachel after
intimidation and harassment in connection with a piece that suggested a citizen security committee might have been behind the
disappearance of a local resident. Escobar
alleged the committee, an independent group formed to help protect the community, had begun using extralegal measures to enforce
its own code of conduct.

Other threats against journalists:

3

Shots fired at television journalist Oscar de León's minivan while he drove with his family. No
one was injured. De León also received multiple death threats.

6

Intimidating text messages sent to Lucía Escobar over five days.

The local press group CERIGUA documented 15 abuses against
the press in the first six months of 2011.

CERIGUA found that more than half of the 2011 violations were
committed by government authorities or
politicians. Criminal groups accounted for only one case because Guatemalan journalists were practicing self-censorship, CERIGUA
said.

In May, three reputed members of the Zetas crime syndicate were arrested in the city of Quetzaltenango on charges of hanging banners with anti-press
messages such as: “Tone it down, before the war
is with you.” Similar banners were found in Petén, Baja Verapaz, and Huehuetenango provinces. A week earlier, the press had
covered the massacre of farm workers in Petén
province. The Zetas organization, which originated in Mexico, has made considerable inroads in Guatemala in recent years.